XRP Remains at Risk of $0.65 on SEC Chair Gensler Chatter

Key Insights:

• On Friday, XRP bucked the broader market trend, falling 0.18% to end the day at $0.7127.
• Uncertainty surrounding SEC plans to appeal the SEC v Ripple Court ruling tested buyer appetite.
• The shorter-term technical indicators remain bearish, supporting a return to sub-$0.65.

On Friday, XRP fell by 0.18%. Following a 0.32% loss on Thursday, XRP ended the day at $0.7127. Despite the bearish session, XRP avoided sub-$0.70 for the second consecutive session.

XRP Price Action

Daily Chart

The Daily Chart showed XRP/USD remained below the $0.7870 – $0.7737 resistance band, with XRP moving sideways for the fourth consecutive session. However, XRP sat well above the 50-day ($0.6089) and 200-day ($0.5023) EMAs, sending bullish near and longer-term price signals.

Notably, the 50-day EMA pulled further away from the 200-day EMA, affirming a bullish near-term trend. While the EMAs send bullish signals, the bearish start to the week left XRP within reach of the $0.6530 – $0.6417 support band.

Looking at the 14-Daily RSI, the 58.19 reading sends bullish XRP price signals, aligning with the EMAs. The RSI supports a run at $0.75 to bring the $0.7870 – $0.7737 resistance band into play.

4-Hourly Chart

Looking at the 4-Hourly Chart, the XRP/USD faces strong resistance at the 50-day EMA. After the bearish Friday session, XRP/USD remains below the $0.7870 – $0.7737 resistance band.

XRP also sits below the 50-day EMA ($0.7181) while holding above the 200-day EMA ($0.6378), sending bearish near-term but bullish longer-term price signals. The 50-day EMA narrowed on the 200-day EMA, signaling a fall toward $0.65.

The 14-4H RSI reading of 47.55 signals bearish sentiment, with selling pressure outweighing buying pressure. Significantly, the RSI aligns with the 50-day EMA, signaling the near-term bullish trend reversal and a run at the $0.6530 – $0.6417 support band.

Investor Angst Over a Possible SEC Appeal Leaves XRP Flat

Amicus Curiae attorney John E Deaton responded to the latest Gensler interview, saying that the SEC Chair has no clue when claiming securities laws apply to most cryptos.

This week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler returned to the stage. The SEC Chair had this to say about crypto investing,

“This field of crypto investing, a lot of investors should be aware it’s not only a highly speculative asset class. It’s also one that they currently should not assume that they’re getting the protections of the securities laws even though the securities laws apply to many of those tokens without prejudging…”

While looking to basket many tokens under the securities banner, Gensler remained coy about an appeal. The SEC Chair said a discussion would happen should staff make a recommendation.

While Ripple continues to make headway with the XRP Ledger (XRPL), XRP investors appear cautious following the latest Gensler interview. The comments suggest that the SEC is far from finished with its regulation by enforcement mantra despite the SEC v Ripple Court ruling.

Long before the SEC v Ripple Court ruling, the SEC Chair had stated that all cryptos except BTC are unregistered securities. At the time, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty had this view on the sweeping statement,

“Chair Gensler has again proclaimed that every cryptocurrency, except BTC, is an unregistered security. He now must recuse himself from voting on any enforcement case that raises that issue since he has prejudged the outcome. Antoniu v. SEC (8th Cir. 1989).”

The Day Ahead

While SEC v Ripple Court ruling chatter will continue to draw attention, hopes of US legislation to deliver a crypto regulatory framework will influence.

Republican Bill Huizenga shared the latest from Capitol Hill, saying,

“This week, the House Committee on Financial Services passed two bipartisan pieces of legislation that will provide clarity to the digital asset ecosystem. Leaving it up to regulators such as the SEC and maintaining the status quo is insufficient. Congratulations to Patrick McHenry for this historic achievement.”

More progress toward a digital asset framework should be a boon for the US digital asset space.

However, investors should continue to monitor the crypto news wires for Binance and Coinbase (COIN)-related news, and ETF-related updates.